WHEN Melton mother Sally (not her real name) attended her first Alcoholics Anonymous meeting it was another mother who became her catalyst for change.
“A woman stood up at the meeting and said, ‘I’m an alcoholic and I killed my nine-year-old son in a car accident’,” Sally says.
“It was as if she was talking to me, I’ve never forgotten it. I knew straight away that I couldn’t leave that meeting and pick up another drink without coming back to that story.”
Sally says she feared her drinking would end in a similar tragedy.
But after more than 17 years of sobriety, Sally’s dedication has not waned.
She’s among many locals looking forward to this weekend’s Alcoholics Anonymous national convention, held in Melbourne for the first time since 2001.
The four-day event at the Melbourne Convention Centre includes meetings, workshops and seminars.
The AA program instils a primary purpose in members, helping them stay sober and helping others achieve sobriety.
Sally, who drank to deal with sexual abuse as a child, says that despite a house fire and countless car accidents, it wasn’t until her first AA meeting that she realised she had a problem.
“I was a drunk driver,” she says. “I drank all through my pregnancy and I crashed many cars with my daughter in the back seat.
“If it wasn’t for AA, I’d be dead.”
Details: 1300222222 or melbourne2012.org
